4 exercises that can kill your knees

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Better to exclude them from your program.

A person with healthy knees is not afraid of almost any exercise, be it squats with large weights or jumping. The problem is that few people can boast of perfect knee health.

Flat feet, excess weight, muscle imbalances, past injuries, and a sedentary lifestyle can all affect the health of the knee joints, and together with excessive exercise, cause pain and inflammation. Below, we'll break down four exercises that can cause knee pain and how to make them safer.

1. Extension of the legs on the simulator

This exercise is good, it loads the rectus thigh muscle - one of the heads of the quadriceps, but it can harm the knees. The fact is that during leg extension, the tense quadriceps shifts the lower leg, and the anterior cruciate ligament, which opposes the shear force, experiences more stress.

In this case, the muscles on the back of the thigh, which interfere with the shear force, do not participate in the work, so that the entire load falls on the ligaments. In the long term, this can lead to their damage and knee pain.

How to reduce your risk

If you want to swing only the quadriceps, replace the exercise with a sitting leg extension: it provides less stress on the knee joints. Attach a weight to the ankle and extend the knee within a limited range of 45 ° to 90 ° (full extension).

If you just want to pump your hips, replace the extension with multi-joint exercises: squats, leg press in the simulator, lunges.

2. Stretching in the "hurdle runner" pose

This exercise is used to stretch the muscles on the back of the thigh. During it, one leg is straightened in front of the body, the thigh of the other is retracted to the side, and the knee is bent.

This position of the second leg is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous for the joint. In his book on Exercise Physiology, Tommy Boone explains that this movement stretches the knee tendon and can cause the kneecap to shift as well as damage the medial meniscus.

As a result, this stretch causes knee pain and can lead to knee instability, which increases the risk of injury.

How to reduce your risk

Just don't take your other leg back - leave it in front of your body.

This will keep your knee secure and stretch the back of your thigh just as well.

3. Squats with a narrow stance

The shoulder squat is used to focus on the quadriceps, the muscle on the front of the thigh. In fact, the only thing that works best in these squats is the calf muscles. The quadriceps, on the other hand, is not strained more than in squats with a medium and wide stance.

At the same time, during squats with a narrow stance, the shear force in the knee joint increases, which increases stress on the ligaments and can lead to their damage.

How to reduce your risk

Squat with your legs wider than your shoulders - this will reduce the shear force on the knee joints. In addition, watch your squatting technique: do not lift your heels off the floor and try not to wrap your knees inward while lifting.

And do not work with weights until you can do the squat with the correct technique. This will surely protect yourself from knee pain.

4. Jumping high and long

Jumping to a high box or long jump refers to plyometric exercises - movements in which the muscles produce maximum strength in a minimum amount of time. They develop explosive leg strength, speed and dexterity, but they also put a lot of stress on the knee joints.

Daniel Baumstark, a physical therapist and owner of a sports medicine clinic in Washington DC, says that plyometric exercises significantly increase the risk of orthopedic injury compared to other types of training: during landing, the knee joints experience a load of 2, 4-4, 6 times exceeding body weight.

Orthopedic surgeon and researcher Frank R. Noye says repetitive stress from jumping exercises can cause the “jumper's knee,” an inflammation of the tendon that connects the kneecap to the tibia.

With this condition, pain and stiffness appears in the lower part of the kneecap. At first, pain may only occur during flexion and extension of the knee, such as squatting. But gradually it intensifies and interferes not only with playing sports, but also simply walking, climbing stairs or sitting in a car.

How to reduce your risk

To perform jumping movements without harming the knees, you need to have strong muscles in the legs and abs, do not overdo it with a load, and perform movements with good technique.

It is important to land with the correct hips position - they should not curl inward. You can check for this error in squats: if during the lift you can not keep your knees in place and they wrap inward, you early to move to explosive movements.

Also, do not jump if you have just started exercising, are overweight or have old knee injuries. Except when you are jumping under the supervision of a trainer who will correctly select the load and will be able to notice flaws in the technique in time.

If your goal is health and fitness rather than performance in weightlifting, sprint, or team sports, strengthen your hips and glutes with other safer movements.